Leave it to me to win a $500 stroller and not be able to get the damn thing into my car. It was a lovely afternoon at the DC Metro Moms Brand/Blogger event at the Pentagon City Ritz-Carlton. I got... Continue reading

Despite being only 29 weeks pregnant, I seem to have the biggest belly in my prenatal yoga class -- and also the longest history as a parent. As far as I can tell, the rest of the folks who show... Continue reading

If I had family around or a reliable and inexpensive babysitter, I'd love to just take a break from activities and do fun stuff. But I can't go for two months without childcare or my son would end up sitting in front of the TV while I tried to keep up on work and volunteer responsibilities. I suck at providing rhythm when there is absolutely no imposed structure, so I'd rather we have some stuff to hang our hat on. He's a social kid who doesn't yet have a sibling, so a day without playing with other kids is incomplete in his book. He's constantly asking me about the camps we did last summer and when he gets to go back.
I hope that when we are a family of four we can create more meaningful stuff to do on our own. But this summer, while mama is gonna be big with child, little boy is signed up for 4 weeks of programs.

Recent high temperatures in the area make me all too aware that soon, summer will be here for good. Most area parents awoke from their winter’s slumber when the announcements for camp started arriving daily in their mailboxes around January. At my own home, I received notice of a camp at Monk...

Thanks for sharing Diana. So funny, and I love the perspective, which is so true. Way to go get me weepy at the same time I'm laughing out loud!
I find that most everything I bitch with my son about comes down to me not being consistent giving him ample chance to work the system, because, really, there is no system. (And despite the fact that I don't yet have a second child to blame this on, this happens often). But when I get (and stay) firm, things eventually work out. So I say, if you are seriously done with the daytime dipes and think it's not pushing her too hard to take the plunge, invest this month's college savings in about 28 more pairs of undies. Good luck!

It's been a shitty week here at Funk Manor, and I mean that literally, for we are in the throes of potty training. Pumpkin, our three and a half year old, is still getting the hang of this whole eliminating-in-the-toilet thing, and the training? It is slow and painful. Fortunately, our son ...

What a relief to know this came across as intended! Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your insights, Kim! That FB thing is definitely part of the equation for me. You used to have to call people up to know what a fabulous life they led!
Thanks for your support and understanding. I have a lot to be thankful for -- including knowing great writers like you -- and I don't mean for this post to belie that. I'm just keepin' it real!

Hey there, Misery. I’ve got some company you haven’t met yet. They’re called my friends. May I introduce you to each other so that you feel so lonely? And so I don’t? Lately I’ve been really making use of my green eyes and wringing my hands every time one of my buddies exudes joy just for the ...

At breakfast every morning, I read the newspaper with my children. Over my cup of coffee and their mouthfuls of Cheerios, we talk about the weather, we read the Kids Post, and we glance at the pictures on the front page. If I find an interesting story, like Monday’s motorcycle-ridin...

You will probably think I'm crazy, but if you make it yourself, ketchup is really good for you! And it takes so much better! A mom in Silver Spring has great video on how to do it: http://simplybeingwell.com/

It’s red, it’s gloopy, it tends to get on everything from kids’ faces to clothing, but I have gone from a ketchup hater... to lover. The smell of ketchup made me sick when I was pregnant- literally. And even now, if I was ever captured by terrorists and locked in a cell, all they would have...

I was thinking of you last weekend and meant to send positive Open House vibes. We've been in the same process and it sucks -- calls at 3 p.m. "can I show your house around 5:30" and then they're really late or early or don't show... and I've scrapped dinner plans to go out, which is kind of a big deal for someone with a lot of food sensitivities. Plus it kept raining...
But now we have a signed contract! So I can finally leave my toothbrush out again. And maybe my poor stressed out son and I can try to re-learn how to chill out. I wish you a speedy sell and clear directions coming down from the heavens on how to piece it all back together.

I have spent the past month getting my house ready to go on the market. After nagging my husband for two years, he finally agreed, it was time to jump on the buyers market! But we also have to sell our house. So there has been decluttering, and staging. And oh, so much work. We have done a...

With this and the sad news of our fellow blogger in LA losing her young daughter... I'm humbled by the heft and yet grateful to have had windows into the beauty and poignancy of other people's lives. It's important to read things like this to keep things in perspective. Thanks for sharing, and best wishes for strength to you and your friends on this rough anniversary.

Every time I look outside and see the first buds of spring on the trees in front of our house, I think of our friend, Scott. Two years ago today, through tear-filled eyes, I watched the spring breeze blowing through the branches of those very same trees, fresh with blooms. It was quiet, eer...